CHARLOTTE:
Technology & Analytics
Photos: ©PatrickSchneiderPhoto.com
Charlotte: A Hub For Technology & Analytics Charlotte might be better known for its banks but the Queen City has also become a regional hub for technology and big data. Noting a surge in the technology talent pool, research firm CBRE just named Charlotte one of the top momentum markets for technology sector growth. In fact, the tech sector has grown by 28 percent in the last five years, outpacing major tech-savvy cities including California’s Silicon Valley, according to CBRE. As the revolution in big data and analytics is also in full swing across the nation, Charlotte is in an enviable position. It is home to a wide array of large and small businesses whose leaders are using big data applications and analytics to run more profitable and efficient operations. Charlotte’s concentration of diverse industries creates a unique environment for the analytics and technology fields. Here, small organizations interact with large businesses, transforming the way companies use information and connect with consumers. 2
In the health care industry, Carolinas HealthCare, one of the largest hospital systems in the country, is attracting data scientists to help improve patient care and reduce costs. Retail companies such as Belk are using data to redesign customer service strategies and analyze customer trends.
undergraduate, graduate and executive education levels. The Belk College of Business and College of Computing and Informatics yield graduates that are well equipped for careers in data analytics, while programs such as the Data Science Initiative and PORTAL foster strategic innovation and spur business growth.
The technology and data needs of these major firms have spurred growth in small and midsize companies, who develop solutions and software to meet these demands. Premier, a buying cooperative and member organization, provides knowledge and capabilities in analytics related to patient care and supply chain management. Companies such as AvidXChange, Tresata, and Pactera provide software platforms that support technological advances for larger companies.
Change happens fast in Analytics and Technology. Titles that barely existed ten years ago now make up whole departments. The only constant seems to be that every sector of the U.S. economy relies on data- and technologysavvy workers. That can make defining the analytics and technology sector a difficult task.
UNC Charlotte, the state’s urban research university, is leading the charge to provide skilled talent and research at the
After a review of studies by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and McKinsey & Co., the Charlotte Chamber selected 57 occupations for which analytics and technology are integral parts of day-to-day job responsibilities. We further divided those occupations into three categories: charlotte.global
Technology Occupations
11,263
Data-savvy Occupations Employees in data-savvy occupations use insights gained from data and analytics to answer questions and make decisions in their specialties.
UNIQUE POSTINGS FOR ANALYTICS AND TECHNOLOGY JOBS IN MAY 2015
Accountants and Auditors Aerospace Engineers Agricultural Engineers Animal Scientists Biochemists and Biophysicists Biological Scientists, All Other Biomedical Engineers Budget Analysts Chemical Engineers Civil Engineers Computer Hardware Engineers Cost Estimators Credit Analysts Electrical Engineers Engineers, All Other Environmental Engineers Financial Analysts Financial Examiners Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Industrial-Organizational Psychologists Life Scientists, All Other Logisticians Management Analysts Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists Mechanical Engineers Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists Microbiologists Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Physicists Soil and Plant Scientists Statistical Assistants Survey Researchers
92,153 JOBS IN THE CHARLOTTE MSA
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Deep Analytic Talent Deep analytic talent occupations require sophisticated and specialized training in analytics. Actuaries Atmospheric and Space Scientists Chemists Economists Epidemiologists Industrial Engineers Materials Engineers Materials Scientists Mathematicians Nuclear Engineers Operations Research Analysts Statisticians
Supporting Technology Occupations Technology occupations primarily focused on supporting and developing technologies to enable analytics.
Source: Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc.
Computer and Information Systems Managers Computer Network Architects Computer Network Support Specialists Computer Occupations, All Other Computer Programmers Computer Systems Analysts Computer User Support Specialists Database Administrators Information Security Analysts Network and Computer Systems Administrators Software Developers, Applications Software Developers, Systems Software Web Developers 3
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Belk
Investing in Analytics to Drive Business To begin understanding why the country’s largest privately owned department store chain cares about big data and analytics, listen to Tim Belk, chief executive officer and chairman: “Suppose you shop at Belk. You might have received a coupon on Facebook, looked at some of our merchandise on your desktop, visited a store to try on the items, and then redeemed your coupon using your iPhone. That’s four touchpoints right there.” Today many large retailers are keenly focused on what’s called “omnichannel retailing.” “We want our customers to be able to move seamlessly among a lot of touchpoints, and we want to make it easy for her to access the ‘best of Belk’ by putting all our inventory in front of her no matter where she is,” said Belk, whose company has nearly 300 stores in 16 states. Belk has made developing its data and analytics capabilities a priority to enable a seamless shopping experience. The changes have improved everything from sales and product selections to efficiency and customer satisfaction. New, advanced demand forecasting technology helps keep the company on the leading edge of retailing analytics. Used by a new team of forecast analysts, it blends the science of analytics with the art of retail. The technology examines historical selling patterns and current trends to make specific predictions about shopping patterns. This ensures the right amount of product is sold in the right stores. For example, while previous technology determined how many men’s polo shirts should be delivered to stores, this system is much more specific, pinpointing exact sizes, styles and colors that would sell best at each store at specific times. Another key change involves the use of algorithms by the company’s supply chain analytics team. Analytics provide insight into business operations that the team uses to determine the best way to get merchandise to the customer, from reducing transit time from a fulfillment center to a customer’s home to determining the most efficient way to fulfill a charlotte.global
customer’s order – whether that’s through a fulfillment center, Belk store or direct from a vendor. Algorithms are then used to convey to the computer software what to do so that the order is fulfilled in the most efficient way. While it’s common for retailers to use supply chain metrics, not all of Belk’s competitors are optimizing algorithms in such a sophisticated way. Another Belk team leverages customer data – gathered through call centers, social media pages, belk.com, surveys, focus groups, emails and more – to easily recognize common concerns and prioritize how to respond to them. The Customer Insights and Analytics team’s data also provides details regarding how the customer shops – whether that’s in store, online, on a mobile device or a combination. Belk’s investment in analytics extends beyond its business. In 2013, the company stepped forward to make the largest gift to date to the Belk College of Business at UNC Charlotte – $5 million to bolster teaching and research in analytics and innovation, a gift that includes creating an endowed chair for marketing analytics. Belk, who chaired the Charlotte Chamber in 2009, sees the gift to UNC Charlotte accelerating the learning curve not only at his business but in the region. “We would like to see other companies do something similar to what Belk did in making an investment,” he said. “They can help build the data analytics curriculum like we are doing, and UNC Charlotte can be an important source of labor for them and a jobs generator for the region.” Among many future applications, he sees analytics helping his company refine customer service. “Imagine our sales associates having an electronic clientele book that automatically sends emails to customers when something they want comes in,” Belk said. “Or, imagine the sales associate doing a search on his iPhone for the blue shirt in the size you want and finding out the closest Belk store and the quickest delivery option. That would be terrific.” 5
Carolinas HealthCare System In Need of Data Scientists
One of the most sophisticated users of big data and analytics in the Charlotte region is Carolinas HealthCare System (CHS), which owns or manages 39 hospitals and 900-plus care locations as one of the largest public health care systems in the United States. Yet, finding enough talent for Carolina HealthCare System’s Dickson Advanced Analytics group, also known as DA2, is a major challenge for Michael Dulin, M.D., Ph.D., chief clinical officer of outcomes and research. DA2 now numbers more 6
than 120 employees, with over half of the team being new recruits over the past three years.
Charlotte Chamber joining hands to encourage workforce development in this field.
The talent shortage “is not peculiar to any one region; it just seems to be a general market trend as more companies understand the importance of analytics,” said Dulin. “The market is competitive, and schools are not turning out data analysts and data scientists fast enough.”
“I firmly believe that Charlotte can be an analytics hub for the region, even for the U.S.,” Dulin said. “We have a lot going for us here — the biggest thing is the different types of industries collaborating to better leverage analytic capabilities. All require strong data and analytics skills, and together we hope to attract top talent to the Charlotte metro area.”
He’s happy to see UNC Charlotte, the Analytics and Big Data Society and the
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“Charlotte is also a great location to live,” he said. “The city is just a couple of hours from the beach or the mountains, and the weather is great. The location is definitely a major attraction to high-powered talent.”
know how to program and understand complex statistical analysis while also having strong communication skills, allowing them to work with teammates who take care of patients and run the business,” said Dulin.
In early 2012, CHS began centralizing and expanding its analytics function. Yet, as of mid-September 2014, DA2 had a number of openings.
Improving patient care and experience is the reason that Carolinas HealthCare System has increased their focus on big data and analytics. System leaders are particularly interested in mining our data to see factors that predict patient outcomes and can be used to make us more efficient in the way we deliver high-quality, value-based care.
“We are particularly looking for people who have the credentials needed to qualify for the data scientist positions. They must charlotte.global
For example, T has tapped its clinical, billing and scheduling data to come up with a predictive risk model for hospital readmissions. Data analysts used nearly 40 factors to identify risks that tend to determine if a patient will be readmitted to the hospital. “Now our care managers can utilize this information to identify patients at risk in real time, organize resources and lay out transition plans to reduce readmission rates,” Dulin said.
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Employment and Wages Data-savvy Occupations 2010 Jobs
2014 Jobs
12,605
13,956
11%
$72,007
Aerospace Engineers
130
135
4%
$73,048
Agricultural Engineers
12
14
17%
$80,581
Animal Scientists
13
17
31%
$68,133
Biochemists and Biophysicists
37
32
(14%)
$82,047
Biological Scientists, All Other
44
39
(11%)
$71,285
Biomedical Engineers
41
45
10%
$87,073
Budget Analysts
158
158
0%
$69,538
Chemical Engineers
136
142
4%
$95,796
Civil Engineers
2,185
2,208
1%
$77,566
Cost Estimators
1,545
1,757
14%
$61,681
Credit Analysts
1,299
1,453
12%
$96,356
Electrical Engineers
1,450
1,583
9%
$97,778
Engineers, All Other
837
930
11%
$84,055
Environmental Engineers
249
262
5%
$80,810
4,370
5,041
15%
$87,260
Financial Examiners
785
838
7%
$92,320
Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors
132
149
13%
$71,192
Industrial-Organizational Psychologists
20
25
25%
$77,105
Life Scientists, All Other
35
39
11%
$107,322
673
803
19%
$69,475
Management Analysts
8,092
9,353
16%
$74,757
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
4,078
4,976
22%
$68,922
Mechanical Engineers
1,588
1,789
13%
$82,389
147
146
(1%)
$99,232
Microbiologists
50
56
12%
$67,762
Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers
13
13
0%
$98,828
180
203
13%
$94,545
24
23
(4%)
$114,998
Soil and Plant Scientists
137
155
13%
$58,441
Statistical Assistants
151
162
7%
$50,025
Survey Researchers
105
115
10%
$49,303
41,320
46,617
13%
$80,051
Description Accountants and Auditors
Financial Analysts
Logisticians
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
Nuclear Engineers Physicists
Total
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2010-2014 % Change
Average Annual Salary
$80k
average annual salary of data-savvy occupations
46,617 2014 DATA-SAVVY OCCUPATION EMPLOYMENT
22% Growth in the percentage of Market Research Analysts in the Charlotte MSA since 2010
Source: Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc.
11,263
UNIQUE POSTINGS FOR ANALYTICS & TECHNOLOGY JOBS IN MAY 2015
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Deep Analytical Talent Description Actuaries
2010 Jobs
2014 Jobs
2010-2014 % Change
Average Annual Salary
177
14%
$110,175
20
20
0%
$87,954
337
389
15%
$77,041
Economists
47
42
(11%)
$111,602
Epidemiologists
17
18
6%
$79,771
Industrial Engineers
1,415
1,631
15%
$79,782
Materials Engineers
112
125
12%
$87,595
Materials Scientists
23
27
17%
$86,885
Mathematicians
12
16
33%
$107,079
663
782
18%
$69,080
78
105
35%
$77,962
2,879
3,333
15.74%
$88,630
2010-2014 % Change
Average Annual Salary
Atmospheric and Space Scientists Chemists
Operations Research Analysts Statisticians Total
Supporting Technology Occupations Description
2010 Jobs
2014 Jobs
Computer and Information Research Scientists
49
50
2%
$106,248
Computer and Information Systems Managers
3,895
4,658
20%
$136,247
304
285
(6%)
$101,118
Computer Network Architects
1,328
1,470
11%
$110,307
Computer Network Support Specialists
1,812
2,053
13%
$61,588
Computer Occupations, All Other
741
700
(6%)
$76,154
Computer Programmers
2,500
2,860
14%
$79,575
Computer Systems Analysts
5,980
7,327
23%
$89,619
Computer User Support Specialists
4,378
5,131
17%
$52,427
Database Administrators
872
986
13%
$92,100
Information Security Analysts
1,200
1,507
26%
$95,723
Network and Computer Systems Administrators
2,588
2,841
10%
$80,404
Software Developers, Applications
4,906
6,001
22%
$90,969
Software Developers, Systems Software
3,748
4,605
23%
$105,287
Web Developers
1,404
1,729
23%
$51,326
35,705
42,203
13.65%
$88,606
Computer Hardware Engineers
Total
3,333
2014 DEEP ANALYTICAL TALENT OCCUPATION EMPLOYMENT
$88.6k .
155
average annual salary of deep analytical talent occupations
18% Growth in the percentage of Operations Research Analysts in the Charlotte MSA since 2010
$88.6k
average annual salary of technology talent occupations
42,203 2014 TECHNOLOGY OCCUPATION EMPLOYMENT
Source: Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc. charlotte.global
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Employment and Wages
TECHNOLOGY ACCOLADES Charlotte ranked
Growth in Technology and Analytics Job Postings, 2011-2015 Jan. 2011 Mar. 2015 Postings Postings % Change
Occupation
5th in Cities Winning the Battle for Information Jobs [Forbes]
Computer Occupations, All Other
834
1,540
85%
Software Developers, Applications
442
1,225
177%
Computer Systems Analysts
574
1,089
90%
Management Analysts
474
1,069
126%
Accountants and Auditors
274
941
243%
Charlotte has the
Network and Computer Systems Administrators
378
807
113%
Web Developers
387
752
94%
4th
Computer and Information Systems Managers
146
482
230%
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists
115
462
302%
Computer User Support Specialists
237
455
92%
Industrial Engineers
149
451
203%
63
362
475%
Database Administrators
174
339
95%
Financial Analysts
128
302
136%
Computer Programmers
231
261
13%
Mechanical Engineers
80
252
215%
Electrical Engineers
74
198
168%
Civil Engineers
39
182
367%
Operations Research Analysts
56
145
159%
Software Developers, Systems Software
42
97
131%
Computer Network Architects
35
87
149%
Logisticians
26
76
192%
8
69
763%
Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors
11
65
491%
Environmental Engineers
16
55
244%
North Carolina listed as the
Engineers, All Other
14
53
279%
Cost Estimators
7
52
643%
Credit Analysts
16
50
213%
3rd
Statisticians
5
17
240%
Actuaries
3
9
200%
Computer and Information Research Scientists
1
8
700%
Information Security Analysts
Financial Examiners
Source:Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc
92,153 TECHNOLOGY AND ANALYTICS JOBS IN THE CHARLOTTE MSA
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biggest Technology Momentum Market by Labor Pool Growth Rate [CBRE]
Charlotte listed in the top
20 Best Places for Tech Jobs [Nerdwallet.com]
North Carolina was named the
top state for the highest percentage of women in the IT workforce [NCTA]
fastest growing state for Technology Jobs [Dice.com]
Charlotte ranked
4th in the list of Cities You Wouldn’t Expect for Tech [Verigent] charlotte.global
Premier
Eager for Local Software Developers Sean Cassidy hopes the day comes when he can do his job without flying all over the country. The vice president and general manager of the Informatics Emerging Business
Unit at Premier – a Charlotte-based alliance of approximately 3,400 hospitals and 110,000 other providers – leads a team that helps hospitals and health systems gain knowledge and capabilities in analytics related to improving the
“We are interested in people who are building solutions, who are creating analytically focused software organizations. That will also create a lot of value for the city of Charlotte.” ~ Sean Cassidy, vice president and general manager of the Informatics Emerging Business Unit, Premier
quality and cost-effectiveness of patient care, as well as improving the health of communities. With one of the nation’s largest health care databases, Premier has information on one in three U.S. hospital discharges. One of Cassidy’s big tasks is checking out the latest analytical software in patient care and making recommendations to members. “I’m on airplanes a lot going to Boston, San Francisco, Austin and Dallas,” he said. “I would rather stay here and tuck my kids in at night.” He hopes an increase in local software entrepreneurs will be a byproduct of Charlotte’s momentum in big data and analytics. “We are interested in people who are building solutions, who are creating analytically focused software organizations. That will also create a lot of value for the city of Charlotte,” he said. Rising costs and shifting reimbursement models are driving change in health care. “Having to connect the dots between costs and the quality side and the patient experience side is a fairly new development,” Cassidy said. “It’s causing a perspective change among our providers. They are in the early stages of the journey.” “They are focused on understanding the health, costs and general wellbeing of populations they serve,” he said. “This is why it’s an analytical problem. In the past, the industry looked at individual patients and individual episodes of care.”
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Peak 10 Driving Growth Through IT Infrastructure Charlotte is becoming a hub for technology as evidenced by demand for tech jobs in every industry, investments in entrepreneurial startup companies, and Google Fiber’s selection of the city to roll out its new gigabit-speed Internet. Peak 10, a national hybrid information technology infrastructure provider headquartered in Charlotte, is helping local businesses across diverse industry sectors maximize the power of innovative technologies to enable growth and success in a rapidly changing business environment. “Technology has evolved dramatically and prevails in everything we do,” said David Jones, chairman and CEO of Peak 10 and an active leader in Charlotte’s entrepreneurial community. “The complexity of securely managing the vast landscape of data and applications now makes decisions about IT infrastructure some of the most important decisions a leader will make for their business.” According to Jones, Charlotte is an anchor market for Peak 10 with a wide spectrum of companies leveraging the benefits of a managed data center or cloud environment within one of four Charlotte-based data centers operated by the company. Peak 10 currently has 25 data centers in 10 U.S. markets with more under construction. “We offer businesses in Charlotte more options for better managing their technology assets, helping enable them to keep their internal IT resources focused on high-priority growth initiatives rather than day-to-day maintenance tasks,” said Jones. Predominant industry sectors in Charlotte like health care, finance, and energy are especially impacted by the proliferation of data and the need for partners like Peak 10 who can help them securely manage their technology and data assets. “The health care industry in particular has seen an amazing transformation, utilizing technology in their EHR/EMR systems, telemedicine and real-time health care systems,” added Jones. “We have a distinction in our industry for providing a number of certifications and operational processes that meet tough compliance standards for highly regulated business. We have strength through experience in serving these types of businesses, which also makes us a very good partner for less regulated businesses who benefit greatly from our operational rigor.“ The company is an active player in the evolving ecosystem of providers poised for the IoT (Internet of Things) impact on businesses as more devices are connected to the Internet. Peak 10 is also on a shortlist of companies partnered with Cisco in their Intercloud initiative to give businesses a broader set of options for managing this explosion of data and information through a ‘fabric’ of interconnected clouds. According to Jones, the ability to provide customers with flexibility and options in their IT infrastructure requirements is essential. “The future of IT will rely on seamless, secure access to tools and expertise with a collaborative approach to achieve shared success,” said Jones. “The concept of a local trusted adviser has never been more germane in the changing and challenging space of managed IT infrastructure.” charlotte.global
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Tresata
Charlotte as a “Data Valley” When describing Charlotte in one word, some will say “BIG opportunity.” Tresata was launched in May 2011 by Abhishek Mehta and Richard Morris, who saw an opportunity in the big data market and chose Charlotte to build their nextgeneration predictive analytics company. Big data has since become the largest and fastest growing enterprise technology ever. Tresata is a pioneer in big data analytics with many firsts to its credit: first to launch predictive analytics applications completely powered by Hadoop, first to profitability, first to launch big data-as-aservice (BDaaS), first to market on real-time analytics in Hadoop, and first big data analytics software provider to specialize in and around financial data.
“Tresata is successful not in spite of being in Charlotte, but because of being in Charlotte,” said CEO Abhishek Mehta. “We chose Charlotte for multiple reasons. Expertise around financial data, easy access to clients globally via a world-class airport and a talent-pool that, while underrated, is second to none makes Charlotte the perfect choice to start something new.” Charlotte’s talent pool draws high marks from Abhishek. “There is a war on talent going on right now in the [Silicon] Valley, which makes it almost impossible to hire and retain the best of the best,” said Abhishek. “It is in our country’s best interest, if we are to remain a global competitive force, to create multiple hubs for technology innovation.
Charlotte should be one such hub, especially given the talent being produced by local universities. We have become big supporters of UNCC’s College of Computing & Informatics, Davidson College and CPCC.” Abhishek translates his bold vision for Tresata into an even bolder vision for Charlotte. “We believe that with the unique combination of industries in our area – healthcare, retail, finance, power and manufacturing – and like ours, Charlotte should become the big data capital of the world. We can call it the Data Valley,” said Abhisehk.
Tresata’s mission to transform enterprises into customer advocates, where corporates design, build and offer products and services that improve their customers’ lives is incredibly unique for a software company. They believe that a combination of data, algorithms and behavioral science can make the world a better place by helping people make better, smarter, always wellinformed decisions. The cornerstone of Tresata’s success is its cutting edge Customer Intelligence Management software, a term it coined to showcase the technology’s predictive intelligence prowess capable of automating the discovery, delivery and direction of customer driven analytics for every customer. The software solutions are offered for marketing intelligence, identity intelligence, fraud intelligence and risk intelligence, and a host of other software products to automate business processes at scale. In only its fourth full year of operations, Tresata’s advanced analytics software is automating complex human processes, like omni-channel marketing and anti-money laundering at leading banks, retailers, manufacturers and health care providers globally. 14
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Pactera
Data and Analytics Enhances IT Capabilities Not long after Pactera Technology International announced that Charlotte would be one of its primary US locations, the automated message at its local office noted the company provides “soup to nuts” tech services for clients. Then, the message listed “predictive analytics” first in a short list of examples. “Big data is everywhere and talked about often,” said Dr. Eric Solano, senior data scientist and UNC Chapel Hill graduate. “This is an exciting and sometimes overwhelming time for businesses. With so much data available, leaders need to drive value from it and turn raw data into actionable insights that they can use be more successful.” Predictive analytics is part of the big data and analytics emphasis in the Charlotte region. “Over the past 15 years companies have been acquiring software to automate processes and are now using the “Internet of things” to capture even more data. “At the core of that software are databases,” according to Nandan Kaluskar, senior vice president and head of connected enterprise
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at Pactera. “Utilizing data analytics effectively helps pull the insights that are most useful. These insights are really where the value of big data comes into play. They lead to stronger customer segmentation helping to create a superior customer experience and allowing companies to better predict consumer behaviors and patterns.” Headquartered in Beijing and with US offices in Redmond, San Francisco, Charlotte and New York, Pactera has approximately 24,000 employees worldwide and is the largest information technology consulting firm with headquarters in China. “Pactera has offices in Charlotte mainly because of the strong presence of talent and Fortune 500 companies in the region,” said Balaji Yellavalli, president & COO of North America and Europe. “Pactera has strong relationships with several such companies and has Charlotte-based management consulting resources serving clients across multiple industries such as banking/financial services, retail, health/ insurance, hi-tech, and energy.”
“Our business generally deals with the Fortune 500 to Fortune 2000 organizations,” said Yellavalli. “While our headquarters is in Beijing, over 60 percent of our business is derived outside of China. We tend to forge long-term, global relationships with our clients to bring together the right mix of people, process and technology to accelerate business value and digital insights. Our innovative solutions and data analytics/ BI competencies have been helping clients removing the guesswork from their critical decision-making process for more than 20 years.” In Charlotte, Pactera continues to expand its client base and grow its technical and consulting employee count. Most of the new hires will work directly with clients. “We are looking for technical expertise, an understanding of our clients’ industry and strong client interaction skills. Our clients expect us to bring them the best talent – they must really understand the industry and be on the cutting edge of how the digital era is transforming business to be successful,” said Yellavalli.
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UNC Charlotte
A Talent Pipeline for Technology and Data For companies and individuals seeking technology and analytics opportunities in the region, UNC Charlotte is a magnet. North Carolina’s urban research university not only turns out undergraduates and graduates poised for employment in diverse technological fields, it plays a key regional role supporting business, industry and their employees. Simultaneously, it has grown into a talent pool for companies seeking to increase applications of big data and analytics. Recent efforts to address big data and its emergence as a major national need culminated into programs that are propelling UNC 18
Charlotte into a pivotal leadership role and partnerships with regional businesses. Capitalizing on the talent squeeze in big data and analytics, Yi Deng, dean of the UNC Charlotte College of Computing and Informatics, and Joan Lorden, university provost, developed a plan to grow resources to make UNC Charlotte the region’s go-to educational institution for big data and analytics. Phillip Dubois, chancellor of the university, was all ears. “Yi and Joan stated how big data was emerging as a major national
need and that shortages were projected to emerge in banking and finance, retail, health care and energy, which are fundamentals of our regional economy,” Dubois said. Furthermore, local executives were eager for university leadership and education. “We have the capacity and horsepower to do this,” Dubois said. “Our strategy was to raise local awareness, to approach the Charlotte Chamber early on, develop a legislative strategy and to get UNC System President Tom Ross on board.” charlotte.global
Today, those goals have been accomplished, and Dubois still marvels at how UNC system support fell neatly in place. Independent of the university, the UNC board of governors listed data science and analytics as one of its six “gamechanging” strategies. Ross allocated funds this year to support the UNC Charlotte effort. “It was serendipitous,” Dubois said. One major Charlotte business has stepped up as well. In 2013, retailer Belk Inc. announced it was giving the Belk College of Business $5 million over five years to help grow curriculum and research in analytics and innovation (see Page 7). These partnerships and gifts help to increase the capacity of UNC Charlotte’s Data Science Initiative (DSI). charlotte.global
“The DSI has incredible momentum,” noted Steve Ott, dean of the business college, in an article for UNC Charlotte magazine. “Companies from a wide range of industries are eager to learn more about how they can leverage data to drive strategy, and we’re confident that the DSI provides solutions to the key challenges of the big data economy.” “The initiative responds to the challenges of big data and will position the Charlotte region as a leading hub for innovation and economic development,” said CCI Dean Yi Deng. The university is working closely with regional businesses and organizations
to create education, training and research programs to meet the DSI need. With executive education and the undergraduate concentration, UNC Charlotte now offers training in data science and business analytics for every stage of a person’s career. Programs such as Executive Education and the Belk Scholars Program in Business Analytics prepare business executives and students alike to make strategic decisions using big data and connect data to business outcomes. Additionally, UNC Charlotte’s Charlotte Informatics Partnership is fostering partnerships between colleges and local businesses to grow talent who can mine data for knowledge to make organizations more competitive and prosperous. 19
UNC Charlotte The university also offers a wide range of well-established research and technical partnerships with companies, government and other organizations, and is known for ongoing professional development and advanced education for regional technology employees. Most of UNC Charlotte’s technology-related offerings come under the wing of the Charlotte Research Institute, which is comprised of individual research centers that bring together interdisciplinary teams to address complex challenges. The institute also convenes events for industry and researchers to exchange ideas and build relationships in fields such as cyber security, visualization, biotech, optical energy and photonics.
Charlotte Research Institute Centers EPIC: The Energy Production and Infrastructure Center is a cooperative venture with corporate energy giants like Siemens, Duke Energy, AREVA and Westinghouse, and helps train engineers to build and run power plants. It also researches improved technologies for power distribution, control and infrastructure, as well as for alternative energy. PORTAL/Ventureprise Inc.: Constructed in 2014, a new campus building called PORTAL, which stands for Partnership, Outreach and Research to Accelerate Learning, houses Ventureprise Inc., the university’s hub for small startups and research commercialization assistance. “Now with PORTAL we will have the capacity to collaborate with medium to large companies as well,” said Bob Wilhelm, vice chancellor for research and economic development and executive director of the Charlotte Research Institute.
personalized medicine. At the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, the center operates a Bioinformatics Services Division. The division focuses on analyzing large datasets to produce new knowledge. The research campus, funded by businessman David Murdock, is home to private biotechnology companies as well as medical research and university programs. Center For Precision Metrology: Initially funded by a National Science Foundation grant, the Center for Precision Metrology works closely with industry to train professionals, perform exacting measurements and build instruments. With 30,000 square feet of research space and 12 faculty members working primarily in the field, the center has the largest group of precision manufacturing researchers in the country. Center For Optoelectronics & Optical Communications: From the start, this center has focused on advancing the integration of optics and electronics for photonic devices and systems. The center targets four areas: the education and training of scientists and engineers in optics fields; conducting pure and applied research in optical science and technology and creating intellectual property; promoting interdisciplinary optics activities linking the university and the larger optics community; and organizing meetings and conferences to benefit the optics community.
North Carolina Motorsports & Automotive Research Center: The Charlotte region is the hub of auto racing, and UNC Charlotte has one of the best motor sports engineering programs in the nation thanks to this university center. The center’s faculty is actively involved in research and development with NASCAR, as well as with NASCAR and IndyCar teams, a large number of industrial partners, and state and federal agencies. The center’s 16,500-square-foot Motorsports Research Building and the Alan D. Kulwicki Motorsports Lab house a wide variety of research and test facilities available to automakers and others: the country’s fifth largest water tunnel, a one-tenth scale wind tunnel, a high-speed video analyzer, a Schlieren color imaging system, a robotic fish tank to study fish locomotion, a PIV system for analyzing complex flow structure and more.
Bioinformatics & Genomics Center: This center pulls from the physical and life sciences, mathematics and statistics, computer science and engineering. Its specific focus is in functional genomics, statistical genetics and proteomics. Bioinformatics often aids in the discovery of new drugs, genetic modification of crops, biochemical production and 20
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UNC Charlotte Informatics Programs
Belk Scholars Program in Business Analytics: With this curriculum, students receive the training, education and professional development to connect data to business outcomes. The Belk Scholars Program in the Belk College of Business, part of the Data Science Initiative, allows high-achieving students the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in five years. This fast-track program enables graduates to pursue lucrative, high-demand careers in business analytics.
UNC Charlotte / Wade Bruton
Executive Education: The sole research university provider of top-level executive education in the Charlotte region, the Executive Education program brings together faculty from across UNC Charlotte together with business practitioners. It offers customized programming to meet specific business challenges, as well as open enrollment programs in areas such as data science and business analytics, cyber security, innovation, risk management, leadership and strategic management. As a team, they challenge executives and professionals to learn the skills to make data-driven decisions in an increasingly complex and disruptive business environment. More info at: http://issuu.com/belkcollege/docs/unc_ charlotte_executive_education and http://exec-ed.uncc.edu.
Charlotte Informatics Partnership: A joint effort with the College of Computing and Informatics and Belk College of Business, this partnership is leading the way to grow funding for an increased emphasis on the hot field of informatics and big data. Approximately two dozen organizations, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Carolinas HealthCare System, Duke Energy, IBM, Cisco, Microsoft and Family Dollar, are advisors to the partnership.
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Analytics and Technology Programs
The Charlotte MSA is home to nearly three times the national average of Financial Examiners and Credit Analysts – two data savvy occupations.
Degree Completions
Median Hourly Earnings
Bioinformatics
10
$41.41
Biotechnology
14
$48.91
City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning
13
$52.76
Civil Engineering, General
114
$42.68
Computer and Information Sciences, General
68
$45.35
Computer and Information Systems Security/Information Assurance
47
$32.79
Computer Engineering, General
27
$45.02
Computer Programming/ Programmer, General
21
$37.70
Top 20 companies for Analytics and Technology Job Postings
229
$41.58
16
$35.00
137
$35.00
Data Processing and Data Processing Technology/Technician
44
$27.65
Economics, General
78
$28.20
Electrical and Electronics Engineering
88
$48.58
Financial Mathematics
40
$32.26
Information Science/Studies
41
$55.32
191
$43.31
14
$52.68
Mathematics, General
141
$46.63
Mechanical Engineering
155
$38.97
Physics, General
36
$54.06
Systems Engineering
18
$50.40
Web Page, Digital/Multimedia and Information Resources Design
24
$29.71
Company Postings Wells Fargo & Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,018 Accenture Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 657 TEKsystems, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .511 Bank of America Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417 Robert Half International Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374 Duke Energy Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 Lowe’s Companies, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 Signature Consultants LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211 Tiaa- Cref Individual & Institutional Services, Inc. . . . . .162 Tech Force, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153 Collabera Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Oracle Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Ettain Group, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Randstad Holding nv . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135 Kforce Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Volt Information Sciences, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 PWC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 United Technologies Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Belk, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 The Day & Zimmermann Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Program
Computer Science Computer Systems Analysis/ Analyst Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications
Information Technology Mathematics and Statistics, Other
Source: Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc.
Source: Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc.
More than twice the national average of Information Security Analysts work in the Charlotte MSA. 22
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Many thanks to the following companies for their support of the Charlotte Chamber’s economic development efforts. PLATINUM SPONSORS
GOLD SPONSOR
SILVER SPONSORS
BRONZE SPONSORS Axiom Law Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP Bryan Cave LLP Burkert Contromatic Corp. Carolinas HealthCare System Compass Group North America DiscoverReady LLC DTI Global Epiq Systems FedEx G4S Secure Solutions (USA) Inc.
Haynes and Boone, LLP Hendrick Automotive Group Hollander Home Fashions, Inc. iCrossing Lincoln Harris Louis Raphael - Kizan International, Inc. McGuireWoods Performance Team Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. RockTenn Rogers Electric
RR Donnelley & Sons Company Rust Consulting, Inc. Shearman & Sterling Sidley Austin LLP Stanley Convergent Security Solutions Staples Facility Solutions SteelFab, Inc. XP Retail Zeichner Ellman & Krause LLP
Charlotte Chamber Economic Development | charlotte.global 330 South Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28202 USA | 704.378.1300 | cltecondev
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